Minnow
by prettykitty473
Summary: Have you ever imagined Kaldur during his childhood years? One-shots of Kaldur as a kid.
1. HideNSeek

I've been wondering lately what Kaldur's life would've been like before Aqualad. So I decided to write this- Aqualad when he was younger, a "minnow" if you will. A little blast from his past.^^

* * *

><p>"Tula, Garth, ready or not, here I come!" A young Atlantean called out. He had dark skin, and blonde hair, and gills. Young Kaldur was playing hide-and-seek with his two buds. It was a great day, with the water feeling just right, and all was calm.<p>

"I'm gonna find you." He said in a pre-pubescent voice. He spotted a patch of seaweed. "Ha! Found you!" He jumped in, expecting to find one of his friends. He found a family of clownfish instead. "Whoops, sorry." He backed out.

Then he spied a large rock. "Found you now!" He shouted, but to air. "Awww…" His face grew downcast. But he was not about to give up. He swam around the outside of intricately designed buildings and rock formations. And it was around the bend of one of these buildings that he found Garth. "Ha! Found you." Kaldur looked a little smug.

"Maybe, but you haven't found Tula. And you and I both know how good she is at this game!" Garth looked at the young Atlantean out of the corner of his eye, knowing how his friend was going to react.

Kaldur's face grew sullen, and a look of determination flashed across him. "I'll find her. She can't hide from me for long." And then a movement from up ahead, leading into a temple. "Ah-ha! I knew I'd find you." He swam inside, expecting to see his friend.

What he wasn't expecting, though, was to bump into somebody that was obviously too tall to be Tula. "Oomph!" He fell backward.

"I'm sorry, kid." A deep voice said. Kaldur looked up to find himself staring at Aquaman. Like, _the_ Aquaman, his hero. The older Atlantean held out his hand to Kaldur and helped him up.

"Th-thank you." The little one could hardly get his words out. He blushed and looked down. Aquaman looked amused. "So, what are you doing, swimming in here in such a hurry?" He smiled, as to not scare the boy. Kaldur was comforted.

"I'm looking for my friend. We're playing hide-and-seek." He blushed again, thinking about how childish that sounded. But Aquaman chuckled. "I remember when I used to play that with my friends. Ah, good times." His eyes got a wistful look in them. But then he returned his gaze to the youngster. "Well, I've got to get going. There is sure to be _someone_ who needs me. I'll see you around." And the great hero swam off, his smile still lingering.

Kaldur watched him leave, eyes wide. He needed a few moments to comprehend what had happened. But once it sunk in, he gasped. He had _just met_ his _hero_! He took one last look at the departing Atlantean.

_I'm going to be just like him when I grow up_ Kaldur thought as Aquaman disappeared from sight. And with that, he turned back around to resume the game.

* * *

><p>So, how did I do?<p> 


	2. Racing

Here is another little one-shot. I wasn't originally expecting to do more than the first chapter, but a lot of people wanted me to continue. So there you go. And I have to say, it was fun writing this.^^

* * *

><p>"Get ready, get set… GO!" Topo shouted, and two Atlanteans streaked off. Eight-year-olds Kaldur and Garth decided to see amongst the two who was faster by challenging each other to a race. Their friend, Tula, was waiting for them at the end of the "course" (which consisted of a straight line going about 500km.) to declare the winner.<p>

Kaldur started off good, and was in the lead. Garth, seeing this, decided to do something about it. He spied a clump of underwater moss, and chucked it at his friend. It hits him square on, making him tumble into a patch of seaweed. Garth passed him with a laugh. Kaldur mumbled as he untangled himself, and quickly caught up.

_Two could play at that game _the young Atlantean thought as he rammed into the side of Garth, pushing him into a passing school of fish. "Whoops. Sorry." He called out as he tried to get out of the crowd. When he managed to do so, he found Kaldur way ahead again. Garth sighed, and continued onward, faster than before.

Kaldur couldn't help but laugh. _He was winning_! And he thought it would be an easy steal, until he found himself facedown on the ground, and a great weight on his back. "You didn't seriously think I'd let you win, did you?" Garth laughed, feeling good to be on top.

But Garth wasn't expecting Kaldur to flip around, leaving him on top, and Garth on the bottom. "Well, I think I'm better off than you!" Kaldur chuckled. And the next thing they both knew, they were wrestling on the sea floor, their race momentarily forgotten. Bubbles swirled around them and laughter rang out as they rolled around, neither winning the battle.

"Are you guys going to finish the race?" Tula's voice rang out, snapping the boys out of their tussle. They didn't realize they were that close to the finish line (Which was a line of stones, set out by Tula.) Kaldur looked at Garth, and Garth looked at Kaldur. Both jumped up at the same time and rushed off.

Both boys were neck and neck the rest of the way. They crossed the finish line at the same time, making a tie. "Who won?" Garth asked, Kaldur doubled over, panting, next to him.

Tula laughed. "Neither of you. You both cheated." With that, she swam away, laughing. The two Atlanteans stared after her, shell-shocked. When she disappeared, they turned towards one another, glaring. After a moment, Garth asked, "want to race again?"

"You know it."


	3. Tag

Here is the next chapter. Hope you guys find it to be as good as the previous two. Oh, and in case I haven't mentioned it yet, I don't own Young Justice.

* * *

><p>"Ugh. I'm <em>so<em> bored!" Tula whined, looking at the boys expectantly.  
>The day was long, and she was tired of coming up with all of the ideas. Kaldur and Garth shared a glance, and then got into some deep thinking. Suddenly, Garth hopped up. "I know! Let's play tag!"<p>

Tula and Kaldur agreed, and the game quickly went underway. Kaldur volunteered to be "it" first. After giving his friends a head start, he pursued them. Garth was going with the whole straight-line-to-gain-speed tactic, while Tula was dodging in between rocks, seaweed, coral, and such. With that being seen, Kaldur decided his best bet would be to go after Garth. His little feet going fast, Kaldur quickly caught up to said easy-target. "Tag! You're it!" He giggled, and ran away in the opposite direction.

Garth, accepting his new role, raced after Tula. The girl was still running, and not looking back, so she didn't see Garth come up to her until he was a few feet away. When she turned around to see him, she shrieked and went faster. But it was no use; she got tagged. Now both Garth and Kaldur were running for their lives, an animated Tula behind them.

The boys decided the best way to evade her would be to go to the more busy part of the park. They weaved in and out of all the poor souls that were unfortunate enough to choose that particular day to go to the park. Thankfully, they managed to not run into anyone, but there were some _close_ calls.

"You guys may as well stop running. You know I'm going to get you eventually." Tula called out.

"Do you think we should listen to her?" Garth panted, getting tired. "I think I'd rather give up than to have her catch me."

Kaldur had to agree with that statement. Although he would never admit it, Tula scared him a bit. Like, if he ever went to war, he wouldn't fight if it were against her; she would win. But, as good as it sounded, the young Atlantean wouldn't give up. "No, man. We've got to keep runni-"

Kaldur suddenly found himself on the ground with something landing on top of him. _Tula_!

Garth was laughing next to them. "Tula, you're just supposed to tag him, not run him over!" The laughter continued.

"Well," Tula huffed, "He was going too slow, and I was going too fast, and so I sorta ran into him." She looked at Kaldur.

"By the way," she said, "you're it." She jumped up, and quickly ran off, with Garth not far behind, leaving the young Atlantean in their dust.

"You had better watch it you guys; I'm gonna get you now." He muttered under his breath, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and resumed the game.

* * *

><p>While I'm not too sure about that ending, I feel it's good enough. So, anyway... Review!^^<p> 


	4. Coloring

**Okay, before you read this chapter, just know this: my knowledge of Atlantis and Atlanteans is quite limited. And my memory of Down Time isn't so great, either. So I'm not sure if they have dry indoors or not. So, just in case they don't, I made it so that they do in this chapter. If you don't like it, sue me. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!^^**

Colors streak across white paper as Kaldur spends the afternoon creating a masterpiece. Garth was sick, and Tula was off visiting relatives, leaving the young Atlantean alone. So he sat himself down at a table and started coloring.

Orange and white stripes fill a black shell in the shape of a small fish. Kaldur added a charismatic eye to finish that part of, and a few bubbles streaming out of it's mouth. There, a perfect clownfish. He then added forest green seaweed; the regular green just wasn't good enough. Their stalks waved in the water in an almost peaceful way. Bubbles, too, were added around. In fact, Kaldur just put some bubbles all over. He liked bubbles; they amused him.

But the hardest part of that whole drawing was the water. Who was he to give the water a certain color? And who in their right mind thought blue was fit to do so? Water wasn't just blue; it was also green and grey and every shade in between. And that's without the sun's light shining through. How was he going to depict that?

Kaldur puts down his crayons. He had some serious thinking to do. And there was nothing better for a thinking Atlantean than a snack. So he grabbed an apple **[1]** and took a bite, his mind trying to think of a solution.

Well, he could always smudge. His mom taught him that method earlier that year. You just use color upon color, and then rub them in together. He supposed that could work. But what about the sun? He took another bite of his apple, humming lightly to himself. Well, he was eight years old; he didn't have to create a Picasso. So he figured it wouldn't hurt to leave the sun out of it; it just creates too much problems.

So he finishes his apple and eagerly gets back to work. He gets out the pathetic blue, the not-so-seaworthy green, and the good enough grey. The young Atlantean then fills the white parts of the page with all three of those colors, and starts to rub them in. And he finds that, once done up that way, they do make a pretty good sea.

The picture is almost done; he just needs one more thing. With a black crayon, he signs his name on the bottom right of the page, just as his mom told him to do. There; it is finally complete. He takes a moment to look at the picture, taking it all in, before setting it down. Then, with one last proud glance, he goes off to help his mom make dinner.

**[1] Okay, I have no idea what Atlanteans eat. And so I figured I couldn't go wrong with an apple; those things are universal.**

**So, did you like it, love it, hate it? Review to let me know.**


End file.
